Was it Gu Shaoyu who fed Gu Chengyan the medicine?
Guan Yingying asked, "How are you sure it's him?"
"Didn't you tell me to give the Panacea to Third Aunt? I asked the maids in the mansion to wrap it into dumplings and cook them for Third Aunt. I originally thought that since they were eating vegetarian dumplings and it was the middle of the night, and they were new brides, they wouldn't care about the taste. Who knew she would still find out?"
He explained what had happened, and Guan Yingying then realized that even Gu Chengyan's elaborate scheme had failed.
"How can these two be so cunning? They know about the Panacea too?"
"Even if he didn't know before, he already knew what was going on from the way the maids and cooks looked after eating in the morning."
Now that you mention it, it's quite possible that it was my third uncle who did it.
How did Gu Shaoyu know they were making a panacea?
Where did he get the panacea?
He knows about Guan Yingying's panacea? Impossible!
If they had known about Guan Yingying's existence, they probably would have arrested her long ago.
Gu Chengyan couldn't understand his third uncle. Even though he was just a third uncle, he always felt that the uncle was high above him.
The two were wildly speculating, without any clues, and panicked, feeling that disaster was about to befall them...
As dawn broke, Gu Shaoyu nudged Xie Zhaozhao awake: "Little darling, time to get up."
Xie Zhaozhao had only slept for a little over an hour and was still a bit groggy when he woke her up.
"Let's go to the palace to pay our respects to His Majesty for the New Year, and then you can go to sleep when we get back, okay?"
Xie Zhaozhao immediately got up, washed, and changed into her court dress, as such etiquette could not be taken lightly.
After getting up and washing up, Xie Zhaozhao went to the front yard and met members of the Gu family who came to pay their respects for the New Year.
Some members of the Gu family lived in Ouyang County, and some lived in the capital, but they all lived in the northern part of the city. The family head was from the old Marquis's generation, named Gu Yongnian.
Gu Shaoyu and Xie Zhaozhao bowed respectfully to the clan leader, saying they would first go to the palace to offer New Year's greetings, and then pay their respects to their uncle, the clan leader, later.
Gu Yongnian said politely, "It is an honor for our Gu family to be able to go to the palace to pay New Year's respects to His Majesty."
While traveling by carriage, they happened to meet the Crown Prince with Wei Chuchu on the imperial road. The Duke of Chengen and the Wei family were also entering the palace to pay New Year's respects to His Majesty.
Old Madam Wei was also dressed in the official robes of a first-rank noblewoman, riding in a carriage, with Wei Shixun protecting her on horseback.
She was the mother of the Duke of Chengen, the mother of Empress Dowager Wei, and the grandmother of the Empress. She was eighty years old.
Old Madam Wei said loudly, "Grand Secretary Gu, it's a blessing to have you by my side! Your wife is truly wonderful; she looks like a blessed person."
Gu Shaoyu expressed his gratitude to her, saying, "Grandma, you're getting more and more energetic every year!"
Old Madam Wei shook her head and said, "No, my eyes are failing, and my ears are failing too. I have to go see the Empress Dowager. I heard she has hemiplegia, and I'm worried about her."
Gu Shaoyu said, "The Empress Dowager is blessed with good fortune, so please put your mind at ease."
Xie Zhaozhao maintained a serene smile, revealing no emotion whatsoever. However, the old lady Wei, being so shrewd and experienced, could not hide any of her actions or expressions.
Upon entering the palace, Xie Zhaozhao, along with Gu Shaoyu and other officials and their families, paid New Year's greetings to Emperor Hui.
Emperor Hui hurriedly offered a seat to Old Lady Wei.
The Crown Prince and Wei Chuchu were also there, but the Crown Prince looked listless.
"Your Highness, what's wrong? Didn't you sleep well last night?" Emperor Hui asked casually.
Xie Zhaozhao glanced at the Crown Prince, whose face was strangely pale and yellowish-white, and seemed to have a layer of goosebumps on his face.
Old Madam Wei asked in surprise, "Is Your Highness ill? Why have you become so thin?"
The prince yawned and said impatiently, "I'm a little tired from keeping vigil on New Year's Eve, but it's alright."
Emperor Hui's face darkened instantly. He said, "Since the Crown Prince is feeling sleepy, then come with me to the Imperial Garden to see the plum blossoms and refresh yourself. The gardeners have recently cultivated several varieties of cold-resistant flowers; let's go take a look!"
The beggar Sheng delivered a message to the Empress and all the other ladies-in-waiting, inviting them to go and admire the flowers together.
The paths in the Imperial Garden were spotless, but the snow on the trees, shrubs, and ice hadn't all been cleared. The snowflakes resembled hats and small blankets, with tiny glimpses of red, yellow, and green peeking out, like an exquisitely designed painting.
Just as everyone was thinking about whether to compose a poem to add to the merriment, they saw the Crown Prince suddenly start cursing.
"Why bother admiring flowers during the New Year? We can't eat or drink them, why waste time on such pointless things?"
"You audacious lackey, what are you doing pulling me?"
The crowd was puzzled, made way for him, and looked at him in surprise.
Seeing his agitated state, scratching himself wildly, Emperor Hui frowned and asked, "Crown Prince, what are you doing?"
The crown prince's eyes were bloodshot, and he said agitatedly, "Father, if you want to see the flowers, then see them yourself. I'm itchy all over and in pain!"
Shi Xiu was terrified and knelt down with a thud: "Your Highness... please stop talking..."
The crown prince suddenly clutched his stomach, seemingly in unbearable pain, and pointed at him, shouting angrily, "Quickly, help me to the latrine!"
Shi Xiu was so frightened that he kowtowed repeatedly, crying as he said to Emperor Hui, "Your Majesty, His Highness has caught a chill..."
Before he could finish speaking, the Crown Prince vomited violently, and many ministers rushed to help him, only to be covered in his vomit and scratched by him with bloody marks on their faces.
The crown prince's voice grew increasingly strange, and his bloodshot eyes sent chills down the spines of the ministers.
"itch......"
"Ants bite me, it hurts and itches."
A short while later, the prince collapsed to the ground, convulsing and scratching himself incessantly.
His disgraceful behavior was witnessed not only by the ministers but also by his family members, who were caught off guard and saw everything.
The Empress rushed over and ordered people to carry him away quickly and find the imperial physician.
"The Crown Prince has fallen ill unexpectedly; please pretend you saw nothing today," the Empress threatened the crowd.
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